The recent report by Niti Aayog has revived the long-standing request for special status for the NDA-led Bihar. According to NITI Aayog's latest Sustainable Development Goal index, Bihar ranks bottom-most with 52 points in the 100 point scale. The list is led by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh.
"The NITI Aayog report is not a reflection on Nitish Kumar's performance. Rather, it affirms our stand that Bihar has been wronged and must get its due," said KC Tyagi, JD (U) principal national secretary-general and the chief spokesperson said, while adding that the special status has been a long-standing demand of the party.
JDU leader Upendra Kushwaha tweeted a Twitter thread tagging Modi requesting to reconsider the demand asserting that though the Nitish Kumar government had done all possible to counter the economic situation, Bihar needed more. JDU opines that Bihar has been adversely affected after resource-rich Jharkhand got carved out from it two decades ago.
CM Nitish Kumar has been raising the demand for special status ever since he came to power in 2005 and had pledged support to any government who would fulfil the demand while the Cong-led UPA was at the Centre. Even after joining the NDA-fold, he stayed firm on the demand.
Kumar had previously written to the Centre alleging that Bihar was getting a raw deal under the new formula for tax revenue among states. The Centre's response, however, has been vague. While the PM chose not to broach the subject, Arun Jaitley clammed it on the 14th Finance Commission, which had allegedly done away with granting special status to weaker states.